Two key planning documents which have been hit by delays and dismay ahead of a huge urban expansion in west Harrogate will cost taxpayers £25,000, it has been revealed.

The West Harrogate Parameters Plan and a delivery strategy set out how the area’s infrastructure and services will cope with 4,000 new homes.

They have been produced by Harrogate Borough Council, which has worked with North Yorkshire County Council, housing developers and consultancy firm Hyas.

After being forced to defend the plan and announcing delays for the delivery strategy, the borough council has now confirmed Hyas will be paid £25,000.

The council also said the delivery strategy will be signed off in autumn – more than two-and-a half years after a government inspector ordered the creation of the plans.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said he has been frustrated by the “snail-like progress” of the plans and that he has “little confidence” they will address concerns over areas including traffic congestion which is already a major problem.

He said:

“We are concerned that reorganisation of local government, lack of money and pressure from developers will force developments through with inadequate infrastructure, leaving the community to pick up the pieces.

“At the very least the combination of the parameters plan and infrastructure delivery schedule should address the massive growth on the western edge and go some way to mitigating against existing problems.

“In other words things should be no worse.

“We remain unconvinced that this will be the case.”

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Howard West, chairman of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, said:

“It remains to be seen whether the £25.000 spent will prove cost-effective.

“As all matters have been handled without serious interim consultation with stakeholders, we won’t even know if Hyas’s recommendations have been followed.”

Once complete, both the delivery strategy and parameters plan will be used together to shape decisions on how west Harrogate will cope with 2,500 new homes – although as many as 4,000 properties are set to be built in the wider area by 2035.

There are proposals for two new primary schools and four playing pitches, as well as two new local centres for shops and health services.

Land has also been designated for other businesses, as well as new cycle lanes, footpaths and bus routes.

As part of the delivery strategy, a review of existing infrastructure is being carried out ahead of the document being published in draft form during a public consultation.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson described Hyas as a “specialist town planning, master planning and place-making consultancy” firm which was commissioned “based on their experience of other complex development schemes”.

The council spokesperson said.

“The cost of this specialist consultancy is £25,000,

“The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy document is part of their commission and is a joint piece of work – in collaboration with the borough council, county council and promoters – to provide the long term co-ordination of infrastructure across the west Harrogate sites.

“The document will be signed-off in the autumn as it requires the input from a piece of work regarding transport mitigation which won’t be concluded until then.”

The world-famous Band of the Grenadier Guards has performed with young musicians in Harrogate.

The band joined schoolchildren from across North Yorkshire for a concert on Friday to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

People cheered and waved flags as the military band – famous for its scarlet tunics and bearskin hats — made a grand entrance at Harrogate Convention Centre, playing the traditional British Grenadiers marching song.

The concert, which was organised by North Yorkshire County Council’s school music service, featured about 350 pupils.

Pupils playing at the concert.

Trumpet player George Hirst, one of the Grenadier Guards taking part, is a former North Yorkshire student who was a member of some of the music service’s ensembles.

The Band of the Grenadier Guards’ history dates back more than 300 years and played a key role in this month’s jubilee parade in London.

They are taking part in celebratory concerts across the country this year and North Yorkshire’s school music service’s request for the band to join the concert was accepted.

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Ian Bangay, head of North Yorkshire county music service, said the event was a “huge success”, adding;

“The children really entered into the spirit of the event, waving their flags and cheering as the band marched in.

“They sang well and the musicians from the music centres performed superbly.”

“The guards were fantastic, interacting with our children throughout the day. They were happy to talk about their roles and even let the children try on their bearskins and have pictures taken with them. It was a great end to an enormous amount of work put in by music service staff and the teachers at the schools taking part.

“We are hoping to continue our relationship with the guards and are looking in to taking the county youth big band down to London to rehearse with them and watch changing of the guard.”

The evening featured popular music from each decade of the Queen’s reign.

The Band of the Grenadier Guards performed Crown Imperial, music from West Side Story, Symphony by Clean Bandit and rounded off the evening with Pomp and Circumstance by Edward Elgar and the National Anthem.

Harrogate property developer gets 16-month drink-driving ban

Harrogate property developer Adam Thorpe has been banned from driving for 16 months after being caught almost twice over the legal limit.

Thorpe, 41, of Ingerthorpe Hall, Markington, was stopped by police in November last year on the B6265 near Risplith Hill.

He was found to have 66 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

Thorpe pleaded not guilty in April but changed his plea at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday.

Magistrates said his 16-month disqualification from driving would be reduced by 16 weeks if he completed a course.

Thorpe was fined £984. He was also ordered to pay £98 to victim services and costs of £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Thorpe announced plans for a £75 million redevelopment of the former Harrogate Borough Council building at Crescent Gardens in 2017.

The plans included luxury apartments, an art gallery, underground car park, swimming pool and restaurant.

But his company ATP Ltd went into administration with debts of almost £11 million.

Police today issued an appeal for witnesses following a crash near Harrogate in which a man suffered serious injuries.

The collision, on the A59 near Kettlesing, involved a white Transit van and a motorcycle.

Both were travelling in the direction of Harrogate.

The incident happened at about 2.30pm on Friday and led to the road being closed for several hours.

The motorcyclist sustained life-threatening injuries.

North Yorkshire Police are appealing for any witnesses to the collision, or anyone with relevant dashcam footage.

If you wish to do so you can call 101 and speak to the force control room, quoting reference number NYP-17062022-253.

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Harrogate fire station has urged farmers to check the temperature of baled hay and straw after a fire this week.

Knaresborough and Harrogate firefighters used breathing apparatus to tackle a blaze affecting dung heaps and about 70 hay bales at Thorpe Underwood on Wednesday.

There was also a large amount of straw used for bedding in the pile that caught fire.

Harrogate fire station said in a social media post that its thermal imaging camera identified hot spots at over 500 degrees. It added:

“Piles of straw like this can spontaneously combust. They self-ignite because of heat produced by bacterial fermentation. Once ignition temperature is reached, combustion occurs.”

The thermal imaging camera picks up the hotspots. Pic: Harrogate fire station

Hay spontaneously combusting is a common cause of summer barn fires. They usually occur just after the hay or straw has been baled.

Firefighters urged farmers to monitor the temperature of their hay and straw by using temperature meters, especially after collecting it from fields, and then taking steps to cool it if necessary.

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The family of PC David Haigh, the Harrogate police officer murdered by Barry Prudom, has called for a permanent memorial to be erected.

Father-of-three PC Haigh was just 29 years old when he was shot by Prudom at Norwood Edge car park in Stainburn Forest.

PC Haigh’s widow, three sons and other family members hung a wreath at the site yesterday — 40 years to the day after he was slain.

They laid another wreath at Harrogate police station, where there is a plaque commemorating a fallen colleague.

But besides that plaque there is nothing to honour the officer who made the ultimate sacrifice and his family feels it is time that was put right.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret at yesterday’s wreath hanging, relatives said they were in discussions with the Police Memorial Trust, a charity that erects memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty.

They hope something will be arranged for the site where he died, which is currently a car park owned by the Forestry Commission.

The memorial to PC David Haigh.

Annette Jakes, PC Haigh’s widow, returns to the site most years to pay her respects. She said:

“He was a hero. Yet there is nothing to remember him except the plaque in the police station.”

The fateful day

Ms Jukes was so overcome by grief at the news of her husband’s death that she had to be sedated for many days afterwards.

Recalling the fateful moment, she said she could see police officers through the glass door of the family home at the time on Elmwood Street:

“It was about 10am. There was the chief superintendent and the police doctor behind him.

“The chief superintendent said ‘I think you’d better sit down’. Then he told me my husband had been killed this morning. I don’t remember anything after that. I just hit the ground. I was injected for weeks. I never even saw the children.”

Eldest sons Carl and Michael, who were 11 and eight at the time, were sent home from Grove Road Community Primary School. They were waiting in a neighbour’s house when they overheard the news that their dad had been killed. Two weeks later they were back at school.

PC David Haigh

Youngest son Richard, who was just three at the time, said he was “unbelievably proud” of his dad.

He added it was a cruel twist of fate that the anniversary of PC Haigh’s death always fell around Father’s Day.

About a dozen family members, including grandchildren of PC Haigh, were at Norwood Edge yesterday to pay their respects.

It was a short and dignified occasion at the spot where it is thought PC Haigh died from a single gunshot wound.

Prudom went on the run and killed two more people before turning the gun on himself 17 days later after Britain’s biggest ever manhunt.

Now the family hopes a more lasting tribute will be erected in memory of the young Harrogate father who sacrificed his life serving others.

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Residents at a Harrogate care home where rodent droppings were found and rooms smelled of urine have been moved to other homes.

Mary Fisher House was rated inadequate and put into special measures in April by the Care Quality Commission, which regulates health and social care.

The CQC report in April, which was based on an inspection in February, found evidence of rodent droppings in the kitchen.

It said some bedrooms smelled of urine, described medicines practices as unsafe and said there were insufficient staff to safely support people.

The four-storey home on Cold Bath Road, which caters for up to 24 residents, relied heavily on agency staff who weren’t properly inducted, it added.

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Claire Harris-Winstanley, manager of the home on Cold Bath Road, confirmed it was closed when the Stray Ferret visited today. However, she said it was not clear yet whether the closure would be permanent and declined to comment further at this stage.

Rachel Bowes, North Yorkshire County Council’s assistant director for care and support, said in a statement today:

“We have taken swift action to find new accommodation for 12 residents of Mary Fisher House following a decision by the owner to close for refurbishment.

“This situation has arisen following a recent Care Quality Commission inspection of the home, which identified problems which needed attention.

“Since then we have been working alongside NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group with the home’s owner to try to secure improvements.”

“The owner has decided the best way forwards is to refurbish the premises and to do so without residents in place. As a consequence we are finding alternative accommodation for the 12 residents the county council has responsibility for.

“We understand the situation may be distressing for those involved and we are working diligently to ensure the process causes the minimum disruption to the residents involved. Our absolute priority is the welfare of those affected by this situation and we have been keeping residents, along with their relatives and representatives, fully informed of developments.”

Safety action

One woman, who had a relative at the £600-a-week home until recently, said she was given nine days to find alternative arrangements.

According to the CQC, the home is run by Svivekcaregroup Limited.

The Stray Ferret has tried to contact the provider but has yet to receive a response.

A CQC spokesperson, said:

 “The CQC carried out an inspection at Mary Fisher House in Harrogate in February 2022.

“As a result we have taken action to protect the safety and welfare of people living at the home.

“Our legal processes do not allow us to go into further detail at this time. All CQC’s action is open to appeal.”

A motorcyclist is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash in the Harrogate district last night.

The collision, which occurred at the junction of the A61 Harrogate Road and Weeton Lane, involved a black Range Rover and a Yamaha motorcycle.

It occurred at about 7.30pm.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses and information about the incident.

In a statement this morning it said:

“Unfortunately, the rider of the motorcycle suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and was transferred to hospital where they remain in a stable condition.

“A stretch of Harrogate Road was closed for around two hours in both directions to allow for an initial investigation and vehicle recovery.”

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the collision or the events leading up to the collision can email adam.smith@northyorkshire.police.uk, or contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Adam Smith.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220103906.

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A machine that can repair potholes and other road damage in minutes could be coming to the Harrogate district.

Highways engineers are trialing the JCB Pothole Pro, which is said to be able to repair a typical pothole more quickly than conventional methods.

The machine has different heads, which can plane off areas of road surface, chop out sections of carriageway and clear up debris when the repair is complete, providing options to deal with different types of repairs.

Because the processes are automated the risk of health problems caused by hand / arm vibration from using power tools is eliminated.

NYHighways, which is the arm’s-length company responsible for maintaining roads on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council, is evaluating the machine in the Hambleton district.

The Stray Ferret asked how much the machines cost, how many the council was thinking of buying and when it would make a decision.

A council spokesman said it had nothing further to add. However, the machines have been widely reported to cost £165,000 each.

Council leader Carl Les (left) watches the machine in operation.

Keane Duncan, the Conservative councillor for Norton who is also the executive member for highways, said in a statement:

“We are putting this machine to the test so we can evaluate how it works in real-world conditions and a decision will be made later on whether NYHighways should add it to their fleet.

“Whatever the outcome, road users can be confident we are always aiming to provide them with the best service possible.”

Ross Bullerwell, managing director of NYHighways, said in a statement:

“The JCB Pothole Pro system is just one innovation we are trialling, with many more planned over the next year in order to find solutions that are the right place, right time, and right price for the county’s roads.”

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North Yorkshire Police want to speak to a man in relation to alleged homophobic chanting in Harrogate.

Police today issued a CCTV image of the man they want to talk to.

A statement said officers were investigating a possible hate crime. It added:

“The incident happened on King’s Road in Harrogate near Bambino’s takeaway around 11.45pm on 28 May 2022.

“A group of men were reported to be singing a homophobic chant.”

The statement urged anyone with information to email geeta.maharjan@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2 and ask for 0740.

Or, if you’d prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 1222009231.

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